The Blackburn Buccaneer Society
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Post by britishrocket on Jul 28th, 2016, 09:28am

Hi All,

My name is Carl, I am a new addition to the group. I joined the RAF in '89 as an A Mech A, did my fitters course in '96. I was at Abingdon in late 1990 to 1991 on Bucc majors. I worked on various aircraft, but the one that sticks in my mind most strongly is XN976.

At the time I was a snotty nosed SAC. I got moved onto Bucc majors after having spent the requisite period on Nimrod Spares Recovery, stripping the scrapped AEW's. What a soul destroying job that was.

After Abingdon I went up to Kinloss on Nimrod Majors at NMSU or "Findhorn Strip Club" as it was known. AFter the MU went civvie I spent the rest of my time on the Nimrod, either first or second line.

I'm now 45 and I'm working as an engineer in the offshore industry. I'd be intrigued to hear from anyone who remembers me from my time on Buccs, I remember a few names like Mark Thomas, Jerry Keates, and I remember Andrea, can't remember surname but she was an A Mech E. Also another cracking lass whose name I've sadly forgotten who was an Eng Tech E. Our beer calls were, lets say, lively affairs.

I remember when the Bucc Majors got shifted into F Shed at Abingdon and all the Jag guys and girls in there looked down their noses at us. I also remember the MIG21 that we were charged with looking after and the Hurricane that was under restoration by 3AMS and was for a time stored in the Bucc shed.

My time on Buccs was short but it was one of the most enjoyable and fun times I had in my entire RAF career. I learned a massive amount about aircraft engineering, and a massive amount about life too.

One of the best jobs I did was removing the rear bomb door bearing bracket, replacing the bomb door bearing and then refitting the bracket. A huge and daunting task for a young SAC to undertake, lots of systems disturbed and lots of primary and secondary structure. I was lucky to be given the confidence by and the guidance of some first rate NCO's and JT's and I shall never forget what I was taught there.